Agenda and minutes

The drop in surgery gives you the opportunity to talk with councillors, neighbourhood management officer, street environment officer, safer neighbourhood team and environmental protection officer.  You will also be able to claim your free voucher for a fruit or nut tree.

Residents had the opportunity to speak informally to Cllr Keith Aspden, Cllr Ceredig Jamieson-Ball, Kristina Davey (Neighbourhood Management Unit), Suzanne Prance (Street Environment Service), Sgt Andy Haigh and PC Joanne Brooke (Safer Neighbourhood Police Team) and Allen Marsh (Lifelong Learning & Leisure). Free fruit tree and strawberry plant vouchers were issued to residents that wanted them as part of a Heslington & Fulford Ward Committee scheme for 2010/11.

Welcome and Minutes

The safer neighbourhood team will give an update on police operations in the area and answer any questions you have.

Sgt Andy Haigh and PC Joanne Brooke gave an update on policing issues in the ward.  The following points were noted:

3.1    Crime has generally been very low across the ward over the summer. However cycle theft is an issue at the University campus.

3.2    Following the change of government in May 2010, there are likely to be changes to the way North Yorkshire Police carry out their duties. As a result, the Police have not asked residents of the ward about their priorities as in previous years as they are waiting for a steer from government. This will mean that for now, the Safer Neighbourhood Team  (SNT) will focus their efforts on crime such as theft and burglary.

3.3    The SNT have focussed on cycling on footpaths through issuing verbal warnings and fines. There have been very few incidences of anti-social behaviour. These issues are no longer regarded as a significant problem and won’t be dealt with under a problem solving group.

3.4    If residents were concerned about incidences of anti-social behaviour or cycling on footpaths, they were urged to contact the SNT and report it. PCSOs would be asked to patrol in the areas reported to tackle the problem rather than producing an action plan.

3.5    If residents were concerned about speeding, they were urged to fill out a 9 to 5 Alive form, available at the meeting. The Polices’ Traffic Management Unit would assess the complaint and pass to the Traffic Department for action if deemed necessary.

3.6    The Police are aware of the parking problems along University Road but are only able to deal with issues of obstruction. All other issues should be reported to Parking Services at the Council.

3.7    The main focus for crime in Heslington is at the University campus. However, this does mean that the village of Heslington itself benefits from both overt and covert policing.

Residents were given the opportunity to ask questions:

3.8    A general discussion took place about parking issues on University Road. Some residents were concerned that this was not a priority for the SNT. Cllr Jamieson-Ball informed the meeting thatdouble yellow lines would be painted at the junctions in the near future, however, putting them along the whole stretch of road would take longer to implement if the council decided on this option.

3.9    A resident from Fulford Residents’ Association raised concern about excess parking should the impending planning application for an ice rink to be installed at the MacAurther Glen outlet be passed. A member of Fulford Parish Council informed the meeting that they would be registering the same concern to the Planning Department.

ACTION: Cllr Aspen would to raise the issue with the Planning Department.

You will hear what the team has been doing in the ward.

Suzanne Prance, Street Environment Officer, had sent her apologies as she had another engagement elsewhere. Cllr Aspden informed the meeting that Suzanne had been spending her York Pride budget on local environmental improvements and had been particularly focussing on graffiti removal from utility boxes and street furniture.  Residents were given the opportunity to raise any issues so that Kristina Davey could forward them on to Suzanne.

4.1 A resident asked whether it was a waste of money to repair or replace damaged grass verges in the ward. Cllr Jamieson-Ball informed the meeting that this issue was not a big problem in the area, and that once these works have been carried out, the issue is resolved for quite some time.

4.2Parking on the verges in Fulfordgate was raised as a problem. The meeting was informed that the Ward Committee and York Pride budgets were being used to re-soil and re-seed the eco blocks on Fulfordgate. Cllr Aspden informed the meeting that bollards had been installed elsewhere in Fulford to help rectify these problems.

4.3Concern was raised that there are many street lights obscured by tree foliage in the area. The meeting was informed that incidences of this could be reported by ringing 551551 or to the Faulty Street Lighting telephone number on (0800) 9151522. Residents would need to report the location of the street light and the street light number that can be found on the column.

Three incidences were reported at the meeting:

1.     Outside Heslington Church.

2.     Fordlands Road by the bridge on the left hand side when walking to the cemetery.

3.     The top of Fulford Park near the doctors surgery.

ACTION: Kristina Davey to pass all issues to Suzanne Prance for action.

Andy Gillah, environmental protection unit, will give an update on the consultation and activities of this project.

Andy Gillah, Principal Air Quality Strategy Officer, gave a presentation on the work that has been carried out in the Fulford area. It has been found that levels of Nitrogen Dioxide in the Main Street area of Fulford are higher than government recommended levels. Recent research has shown that the cause of the pollutant is due to slow moving traffic in the area. The Environmental Protection Unit want to reduce the pollution levels by 50% and are working with the Institute of Transport Studies from Leeds University to build a traffic model of the area so that ways of improving traffic flow can be examined. A workshop will be held in the new year so that residents, council officers and staff of the Institute of Transport Studies can look at the computer generated traffic models  and residents can have their input into how traffic flow can be improved. Andy Gillah will be working closely with others to take into account the work on the Fulford Road corridor which will impact on pollutant levels in the area.

We will talk about the proposed schemes for next year.  This is your chance to tell people about any schemes you have suggested and to get more information about schemes you may support.

This part of the meeting was an opportunity for discussion about the local improvement schemes put forward for the 2011-12 ward committee budget.

Representatives gave more information about the following schemes:

6.4      8 – Edible Holmefield would like to purchase fruit, nut and herb trees to plant on communal land so that local residents can help themselves  to free food.

6.4      15 – York Carers want to help unpaid carers in York. There are believed to be around 15,000 people in York who care for friends and loved ones for no paid benefit. Many are not aware of the help and support offered by York Carers so the funding would be used to publicise their work and make them more accessible to their client group.

6.4      23 – Heslington Sportsfield Management Committee wish to completely refurbish the pavilion at the Outgang. The sportsfield is currently used by several football clubs for children and young people that have members from the whole ward committee area as well as other groups. In its present state, club members are unable to use the pavilion for changing and showering due to it contravening a number of health and safety regulations. The Committee has secured another source of funding that will match anything received from the Ward Committee.

6.4      24 – Rachel Smith, Locality Team Leader (Young Peoples Services) informed the meeting that her team have set up the Fulford Junior Club for younger children so that they are integrated into using the club from an earlier age. By doing this, the team hope to build solid relations with more young people and help divert them from undesirable activities. The funding would be used to bring in external groups to run various workshops and activities that will engage the young people.

A resident raised concern that one scheme, although very worthwhile in their opinion, was asking for an amount worth approximately 25% of the possible budget. Cllr Jamieson-Ball informed the meeting, that the preferences received from residents had a high bearing on the final decision on what to fund by members. However, members can reduce amounts paid to specific projects in order to spread the budget over more schemes and this has occurred in previous years.

Discussion also took place regarding the level of engagement in the schemes process. It was acknowledged that take up is quite low, however, residents were referred to page 3 of the Ward Action insert that asked several questions on how ward committees can increase the numbers of residents that get involved in the ward committee processes.

Your chance to ask questions about local issues and concerns not covered on the agenda.

Residents were given the opportunity to raise any issues not covered in the main agenda items:

7.1      Concerns were raised about drainage problems on Heslington Lane between the school and Heath Moor Drive on the school side of the road.

7.2      Concerns were raised about the poor quality of the Fordlands footpath surface.

ACTION: Cllr Aspden assured residents that he was pushing the relevant council department to address these issues and would continue to do so.

7.3      A resident complained that City of York Council had acted illegally when they had written to residents to inform them of an impending road closure. Cllr Aspden informed the meeting this was due to the recent resurfacing work on Heath Moor Drive. A request was made that the council standard letter be changed to rectify this.

ACTION: Cllr Aspden agreed to request that letters of this nature should include a clause for those with mobility and access problems to be able to ring a number at the council to gain the necessary access.

7.4      A complaint was made that the Giveway signs are obscured by vegetation at the traffic chicanes at Heslington village. Some residents felt that the chicanes made the road more dangerous. Cllr Jamieson-Ball informed the meeting that the chicanes had been installed due to concern about the number of accidents and serious injuries sustained along this stretch of road. Speed humps could not be installed in the area and so chicanes were used. The chicanes have been improved since they were installed and since then there have been no more accidents in the area. The measures are currently under review and changes may take place. Further information will be made available once it is available.

7.5      A resident reported that the road surface by the bus shelter on Mitchells Lane, near Bleak House Farm is in poor repair.

ACTION: Kristina Davey will forward the complaint to the relevant council department.